Awakened
by ophelia morgan
Summary: I see darkness before the world becomes illuminated. Rose is turned. A series of one-shots.
1. Eternity

**Rosemarie Hathaway**

I had to keep running. The branches and brambles slicing into my flesh, but I couldn't stop. If I stopped, the darkness would consume me.

And I would never come back.

My breathing came in rapid pants and my legs were screaming for me to stop. I was running (literally and figuratively) on pure fear: fear of the darkness, fear of what could happen, fear of leaving and never returning. A log lay discarded on the ground, tripping me over. And I was falling, falling into a pit, falling until my back hit the earth. As I fought to open my eyes, the darkness greeted me in the form of two red eyes staring down at me.

"Roza"

His voice still coated the air with a velvet chill. His brown hair still hung gloriously down to his chin. And yet his eyes. His eyes as red as the blood he had taken from me. His eyes reminding me that this was not the man I loved. This was not the man I was synchronised with. This was not the man who found me, taught me and loved me.

Then how could he be so similar?

"Roza"

My name on his lips still sent shivers down my spine. I tried to fight the comfort he gave me but I still welcomed it. I tried to stand towards the voice but my legs crumpled beneath me and I became painfully aware of my surroundings. But I didn't care. I realised it didn't matter where I was or _who_ I was as long as I was with him.

I reached out an arm and waited until his own snaked down, stopping finally as it felt the pulse throbbing in my wrist. He pulled and I soared towards him, crumpling against his cool torso.

"Roza"

I could feel his breath caress my cheek. Answering the silent question, I nodded and inclined my neck to his exposed fangs. I saw his eyes – so different and yet so similar – widen with longing and lust. He seemed to be unsure and so I gripped his hand and squeezed.

"Eternity together?"

"Eternity together"

His fangs sunk sensually into my skin and a pleasure ripped through my body before I finally succumbed.

And saw darkness.


	2. Taken

**Vasilisa Dragomir**

"Never took you for a quitter, cousin"

I growled at him but received only laughter as a reply. "Adrian, I'm trying as hard as I can but I just can't d- "

An excruciating pain radiated through my body as my airways clammed together. A ripping, a hacking, a sawing struck at my chest and yet as I looked down, no physical harm was apparent. Nevertheless, the agony of what seemed to be a limb detaching from me soared through my body and I dropped to my knees.

"Adrian. Help. Please." I whimpered as I gazed into his horror-stricken emerald eyes. They seemed to be looking just over my shoulder but I knew he was studying my aura. Another wave of torturous pain shocked through me and I screamed. I tried to release the pain but it stubbornly remained.

"Adrian. Please" I gasped.

"Lissa. Your aura. It's… slashed. You've got long red marks scratched down it leaving holes. It's tearing you away. Wha- "He stopped. Terror ran up his face as realisation came.

"What is it? Tell me." I pleaded. But I didn't need him to tell me. Somewhere I knew. Somewhere in what was remaining of my rationality I knew what had caused this.

"Rose" I breathed.

And then the darkness consumed me.

.

.

.

A harsh white light greeted my sensitive eyes and I had to blink back the tears. My surroundings coming into focus, I saw Headmistress Kirova, Guardian Petrov and Dr Olendski crowded around me. I groaned. I was in hospital. Again. A sense of déjà vu washed over me as I remembered the last time I was in this position. I remembered the feeling of my own blood spilling from my wrists onto the attic floor. I remembered the betrayal I had felt that Rose had done.

"Rose!" I struggled to disentangle my legs from my bed sheets but was pushed down by the good doctor.

"No. Please! Something's wrong. Adrian said… my aura" I falter at the downcast eyes that cannot seem to meet my own.

"Just tell her." A lilting Scottish voice came from the far corner and I noticed Janine Hathaway for the first time. She was clasping a swinging bottle of whiskey that only had a trickle left in it. Odd that she be here but I became distracted at what she had just said.

"Tell me what?"

"Janine, that may not be wise. We are all struggling - "Alberta began to say but I interrupted.

"Tell me what?" I repeated forcibly.

Silence met me.

"Vasilisa," Petrov began, "after the Strigoi attack, Rose left"

"I know but…"

"Upon her leaving," she continued as if there had been no interruption "she travelled to Russia, specifically Baia: a small town in Siberia. We understand this to be the childhood home of Guardian Belikov. However, she only stayed there a few weeks until disappearing."

"It was Ibrahim. He told her to leave, thinking she'd come back here. How little he knows our girl" Janine stated with a monotone voice.

Ibrahim? Who but…

"Her disappearing wouldn't cause this damage to an aura. Please. You know. You know what happened afterwards. Tell me." I begged.

Janine continued the story: "Ibrahim called me to check that Rose had returned to St. Vladimir's but when I told him she hadn't, I was cut off. I didn't hear from him for many weeks but he called again." She began to shake but persevered. "He described how he had feared she had left with the vigilante dhampirs ('unpromised' I believe he called them) and so he tracked them down to an apartment in the nearest city. A woman told him that she hadn't seen Rose for over a week and that she assumed she had been kidnapped by Strigoi. She also revealed Rose was looking for Belikov and that Rose had tortured Strigoi in order to get information on him."

I involuntarily gasped. Even though Strigoi were soulless, the idea of Rose intentionally inflicting pain on another being sickened me. But not more that the assumption that she had been taken by Strigoi.

"So she's missing?" I waited with baited breath.

"No" Janine replied simply. "Ibrahim organised a raid on a local Strigoi estate on the outskirts of Novosibirsk and found her. Her and Belikov. And she… and she was…"

She finally broke down. Tears ripped through her guardian mask as she wept over her daughter. I sat there, dumbstruck. No. No. This was impossible. She couldn't be. Rose couldn't be… I turned my pleading eyes on Guardian Petrov and she grasped my hand.

"Vasilisa. I'm so sorry, I'm so so sorry. But Rose was turned."

And with that my strength crumbled. I released the cry that had been pent up inside me and Dr Olendski ran over to comfort me. I pushed her away. No one could comfort me apart from Rose. But Rose was gone. I'd let her go. My hope was ripped away from me like Rose had been. I beat my fragile fists onto my bed and screamed away my anger. He had taken her. Again. Dimitri had taken her away from me. Forever. The darkness welled up inside me, reminding me that she was no longer there to take it away from me. It was too much. I could see her screaming, shaking until she smirked with malice. I needed to escape. I drew my manicured nails across my right forearm and watched as the ruby blood spilled onto my crystal white sheets. The cries of the surrounding adults intermingled with my own. Physical pain to take away the emotional pain. Only now I felt both. And it wouldn't stop. Blood still flowed from my gaping wrist and on my last glance I stared straight into Guardian Hathaway's eyes before the darkness consumed me again.


	3. Blood

**Rosemarie Hathaway**

Blood besmirched my new life. Streaked across my prey's neck, staining my fangs, glistening off Dimitri's. I had been blind. I was finally free. Free to love, free to live, free to kill.

I had seen the horror on Zmey's face when I ripped Pavel's throat in front of him. His sickly tan draining into the average colour of a Moroi. My tongue had dipped out and began to lick my red-stained lips before I was whirled around and a foreign, coarse tongue had begun to lap at my lip. His muscles rippled under my touch and great guttural groans came from within that vibrated through me. All blood had disappeared when the tongue invaded the cavern of my mouth. We fought for dominance, our hands groping, our moans calling through the battle. We pulled away and I smirked at him.

'Having fun, Comrade?'

'Loving it, Rose'

His eyes had a wicked gleam that had not been there in Montana. His mouth seemed to be ever-curled in my infamous smirk and he would always find a way to touch me. A brush of the hand in battle, a possessive arm around my waist, the cupping of my cheek. From within his duster, I could see the remnants of a bruise I had placed there just this morning. His collarbone was a painting of purple and blue, as was mine. The sheer translucency of our skin still surprised me some days but I was starting to forget how we looked tan. Within my dark eyes and hair, I seemed fragile, almost porcelain. How looks can deceive.

I had forgotten about Abe until I glanced up again at Dimitri's face and saw him snarling over my shoulder. I replaced my hand upon his chest to get his attention. _He's mine_ I mouthed and he gave an almost imperceptible nod but still glared at the man behind me. I spun and swayed like a cat over to Abe who had fire in his hands and was glaring at Dimitri. He seemed not to notice me so I waited until I was next to him.

'Calm down Old Man,' he jumped, the fire almost immediately extinguishing. I could hear Dimitri guffawing. I continued murmuring in Zmey's ear: 'I left Baia just as you asked, I just thought I would stay in Russia for a bit more fun' I accented the last three words and ran my finger down his carotid artery. He shivered. He was still rooted to the spot, his eyes bulging.

'I will not hurt you Abe. You saved Viktoria and for that you have mine and Dimitri's thanks.' Dimitri still looked murderous. 'But you should leave. I cannot stop him when he is angry. And let me just say, you bring bad memories.'

I laughed and wrenched his head backwards by his hair. He whimpered and I chuckled again.

'Oh, and give Janine my regards'

His eyes were wide with horror. In my situation, I looked more like him than I had previously; I now had his Moroi colouring and fangs to match. I smirked as I walked away from him and grabbed the back of Dimitri's neck and pulled him towards me again. I was in complete control. Rising for air, I kissed the tip of his nose, grabbed his hand and pulled him with me.

Speed was the ultimate perk. We were lounging around in the estate after only one minute of running. The throne was not completely comfortable but it was my favourite. Dimitri was sitting on the floor in front of me, leaning on my legs. His brown tresses had spilled onto my knees and clutched in his hands, was a tattered Western. An hour passed and my eyes had begun to drift shut. I was jerked awake by wet kisses along my calves. They transcended up my leg and just before he reached the apex, the other leg was lifted and placed over his shoulders.

'My Queen' the murmur filled the silent room.

I leant down and grasped his chin. His face was pulled towards mine.

'My King' I ghosted over his lips.


End file.
